My Hero
by Acaeria
Summary: Lily and Dom were always the reckless type, and this time they've gone a step too far. It's up to Teddy to save them, and someone will have to pay the price... For AnnaRavenheart's 'The Legendary Gods and Goddesses Competition'. One-Shot.


**A/N: **Well, this is for a competition, and I hope anyone reading will enjoy it and review.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.

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|| Uke Mochi** -** Goddess of food. After she had spat a fish, vomited and coughed rice, she had been killed by a disgusted Tsukuyomi || Write about someone who out of a mistake, provoked his/her own death. || AnnaRavenheart's 'The Legendary Gods and Goddesses Competition' ||

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**My Hero**

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Fifth-year Lily Potter rolled her eyes at her older cousin. Dominique was twenty-two now, yet she still acted like she was no older than nine. The two girls were on holiday at Lake Carbon, which was not far from the village of Wigston in northern England. Dom had offered to bring Lily on holiday for the last two weeks of the summer before she returned to Hogwarts for her sixth year.

The lake was a large, black expanse and strangely quiet. Their holiday house was a small wooden shack with a jetty sticking out the back. It was damp and smelled like fish, but the girls had had some great times in there. They were but three days into their holiday and already they'd stayed up until long past midnight.

Now, Dom was dancing some sort of jig, and looking fairly ridiculous with a trout floating a metre above her head. Of course, she didn't know about the trout- that was Lily's doing. She had Dom's wand tucked up her sleeve, and was using a simple levitation charm to keep it there.

A sudden _pop _distracted her and the fish flopped down onto Dom's head. The older girl screeched, clawing at her bronze hair to get the splattered creature from her locks. Lily burst into a fit of giggles, barely managing to avoid toppling off the jetty and into the lake below.

"See, they're perfectly fine," said a voice, and Lily spun around, a grin on her face. By the back door, on the opposite end of the jetty, stood a young couple. The man was tall, with gold eyes, turquoise hair and a look of amusement on his face. The woman beside him looked stern, her hands on her hips. She had long blonde hair that reached her waist and cold, glittering blue eyes.

"Victoire! Teddy!" Lily cried, leaping to her feet and going to hug her cousin and her husband. Behind her, Dom's shrieks faded away. Lily turned to see her cousin, looking a dishevelled mess and not at all amused.

"You little rat!" she screeched. "I'll get you for that!" Lily flashed her a grin, sliding the wand from her sleeve and into her hand. She held it up triumphantly.

"I'd like to see you try!" she retorted, and Dom stood there, silently fuming, seemingly plotting her revenge. Lily tucked the wand back up her sleeve and turned to the couple. "What are you doing here?"

"Vic didn't think you could take care of yourselves and decided we ought to check up on you. You're fine, aren't you?" Teddy asked.

"Sure!" Lily agreed. "This is great! There's no-one here but us, and we have so much hot chocolate! I love it here!" Teddy turned to Vic, one eyebrow raised. Vic glowered sourly at Lily.

"Fine," she muttered. "I _still_ don't think this is a good idea. Everyone knows there are vampire colonies in this area. I don't like it."

"Vampires?" Dom asked, perking up slightly. "I didn't know that. Hey, Lils, what do you think about vampire-hunting tonight?" Lily beamed at her.

"Awesome!" she agreed, only to have Victoire cuff her round the ear.

"No!" she barked. "No way! It's not safe! What if you get bitten? What if…"

"She'd right," Teddy agreed. "You can't go vampire hunting." Both Lily and Dom seemed to deflate slightly.

"Fine," Dom sighed. "We wont go." Teddy fixed her with a cold stare. Lily shuddered. Teddy was pretty relaxed, but when he gave you that look, you'd better run for the hills.

"I don't believe you," he said simply. "Vic and I will stay tonight, just to make sure you don't get into any trouble." Dom and Teddy had a miniature stare-off. Lily shuddered against the cold wind, huddling closer into her jumper. The tension in the air was incredible.

At last, Dom nodded. "Fine," she sighed. "You take the bedroom; Lils and I will camp out on the living-room floor."

* * *

Five hours later Lily and Dom were camped out on the living room floor, their backs pressed against the sofa. A fire roared in the grate, casting light and warmth over the room. They both held mugs of hot chocolate, and were sipping them slowly. In silence, they listened to the snores of the couple above them.

"Come on," Dom whispered after a while. "Get up." She got to her feet and began to change out of her nightgown and into her clothes. Lily frowned at her, putting the mug down.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, getting to her feet. Dom snatched her wand and threw Lily her jumper.

"Vampire-hunting, of course," she replied, and Lily stared at her. All of a sudden, her whole body had gone cold, and she wasn't sure why.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed. "You'll get us both killed!" Dom sent her a scathing glare.

"Now you're sounding like Vic. We'll be fine! Now, are you in or not!" They held each other's gazes, and Lily shook her head slowly.

"I must be out of my mind," she whispered, pulling her jumper over her head and slipping into her boots. Together the two girls headed out through the front door. It creaked softly, and they locked it behind them swiftly.

"Come on," Dom hissed. "The woods. That way." She pointed to the dark expanse of trees. Lily gulped and nodded, following her cousin across the grass. Soon they were running, breath coming out in short gasps.

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Vic stood at the window, staring in distaste after her idiot relatives as they ran off towards the woods. On the bed, Teddy stirred. "Vic?" he mumbled. "Vic, where are you?"

"Window," Vic replied, not moving her gaze from the two girls. "Teddy, come look at this." She heard a grunt as he heaved himself from the bed, then the creak of the old floorboards as he joined her.

"Those idiots," Teddy muttered. "What are they doing? Do they think they can take a vampire?" His arm snaked around Vic's shoulders and Vic leaned into him, resting one hand on his chest, seeking comfort from the feel of his beating heart.

"What do we do?" she asked, and her voice sounded small. She realised with a jolt that she was afraid for the two girls, who had by now vanished into the trees. Dom was her sister and Lily her cousin- she couldn't forgive herself if they were killed.

"I'll go after them," Teddy said. "You stay here. I'll be back soon." He went to move away but Vic caught his arm.

"Teddy, _no_," she said desperately. "What if you get hurt?" He fixed her with his mauve eyes, which were slowly turning green at the edges.

"That's just a risk I'll have to take." He drew her close and kissed her, and Vic wanted to stay in that moment forever. However, the moment ended, and Vic was pushed away. Teddy pulled on his clothes and grabbed his wand, kissing the top of her head once. "I'll be back," he promised, and then went clattering down the stairs. Vic hugged herself, standing by the window. She watched as Teddy raced across the green and vanished into the shadows of the woods. A horrible feeling overcame her- a feeling of dread and anticipation. If there was one thing Victoire Lupin hated, it was waiting.

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"See, we're fine," Dom said, pulling back the fronds of a willow. "Ugh, this is boring. There are no vampires here after all." Lily couldn't help sighing with relief.

"Yeah, bummer," she agreed hastily, looking around. A feeling of unease came over her. "Can we go now?" Dom sighed with disappointment and turned to Lily.

"I guess." Then her eyes widened as she looked at something beyond Lily's shoulder. "Lily, duck!" she yelled, and Lily dropped to the floor. A shadow soared overhead, landing just beyond them. Looking up, Lily saw that it was not a shadow, but instead a vampire with long, white teeth and pale skin. He snarled at her, his eyes glowing red.  
"Dom…" she said slowly, trying not to panic. Dom grabbed her wand and shot a blasting curse at the vampire.

"Run!" she yelled. The two girls jumped to their feet and raced back through the woods. Adrenaline pumped through Lily's veins and her heart beat frantically in her chest. Suddenly she bumped into another vampire, and spun around to go the opposite way, only to find that she and Dom were surrounded.

"Well, I guess this is the end," Dom said uneasily, eyeing the vampire she'd cursed. His clothes were singed but he was unharmed. Dom grabbed Lily's hand. "It's been nice knowing you, cuz."

"Just so you know," Lily panted, "I blame you." Dom nodded.

"I think I can live with that." _Not that we'll be living much longer, anyway, _Lily thought despairingly. Then one of the vampires shot forwards, grabbing Lily by the throat and wrenching her back. Lily gave a strangled scream as she felt fangs pierce her neck. Fire raced through her blood and she screamed with pain, the world spinning around her.

"Lily!" Dom screamed.

"Dom!" Lily shrieked. Suddenly the vampire that held Lily burst into flame, and Lily fell forwards, her back and arms scorched. She fought back a sob, clutching her hand to the wound on her neck.

"Lily, Lily, Lily," Dom whispered, hugging Lily close. Tears slid down the younger girl's cheeks as the other vampires died around them. The two girls looked up at their saviour.

"Teddy," Lily croaked. "I'm sorry." Teddy shot her a dirty glare.

"Save it," he snapped. "I never should have trusted you." His words hurt more than the burns on her arms, and Lily began to sob into Dom's chest. Dom cradled her close, also shaking uncontrollably.

"It's alright, Lils," she whispered. "We're safe now."

A scream tore through the silence, and the three of them froze.

"Vic!"

* * *

The house was deserted when they arrived. Dom lay on the bedroom floor, pale and still. Her skin was ice-cold and her eyes were open, glassy and fixed unseeingly at the sky. In her hand she held a snapped wand, and her neck was stained with dry blood.

"Vic!" Teddy sobbed, holding her close to his chest and rocking her back and forth. His shoulders shook with sobs as he let out a howl of grief. "Vic, Vic, Vic. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry! I never should have left…"

* * *

The funeral took place a week later. The ebony coffin was placed into the grave, draped with white roses- Vic's favourite flower. The family stood in clumps around the grave, all sombre and grave. Many looked as if they hadn't slept since the accident. Not too far away was a group of friends and former classmates.

Stood slightly apart from everybody else were two girls. You'd barely have recognised them a week ago, dancing and levitating fish. Now they were pale and thin, their cheeks hollow and their eyes glassy. They held hands, their fingers tightly entwined. Their long, vibrant ginger hair was now limp and dull.

As the hole was filled in Lily let out a choked sob. She held on tighter to Dom's hand, feeling that she would fall if she didn't. At last the grave was finished, and the crowd of mourners began to move away. The two girls stayed, sombre and silent.

At last, Lily let go of Dom's hand, stumbling towards the freshly-lain grave. She knelt down and drew a lily flower from her own hair, laying it on the grave. Dom came and stood behind her, and the two girls stared at the headstone uncomprehendingly. Finally, Lily cleared her throat.

"Vic. Where should I start?" Her voice was hoarse from crying. "You were always so stuck-up and neat, I guess I never really gave you a break. Maybe I should have gotten to know you better, rather than ridiculing you. You were beautiful, talented, successful- something I knew I could never be. You were sweet and kind and independent, and so determined- you never let anyone get in your way. Everyone was so proud of you! Perfect Victoire. You were perfect, always perfect.

'I never took you for the brave type, I must admit. You always seemed too finicky, too appearance-conscious to actually stand up for yourself. Yet you went down fighting, despite being outnumbered and out of your depth.

'What's my point here? My point is that, well, I'm sorry." Tears began to stream down her face. "Everyone's proud of you. We're all so, so sorry. I just wanted to tell you that no-one could be a better role model than you. You were beautiful, and kind, and brave, and I promise I'll never forget that. I'll never forget you. You're a hero Vic, and more importantly, you're my hero." She stood up, clinging onto Dom's arm. "You've always been my hero."

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**The End**


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